Wolf Read Free Page B

presence. How did he know who I was when many summers had passed? Pieces of the horrifying ordeal locked into place, secured by the strength and resolve tumbling from him. “You saved me.”
    The statement sounded more like a question, even though I already knew the answer. His nod affirmed my thoughts, and I looked down, now aware of my attire. I couldn’t fathom why my state of undress or my skinned legs and dirt-covered skin mattered—not when it had been the furthest thought. But it did.
    I ran my hand down my hair. “Thank you.” I swallowed. For some reason I knew staring into his eyes would strip me of what little resolve I’d mustered.
    I couldn’t let him sense my despair, my fear, my anguish. Today’s battles had left me defenseless, with nowhere to mend and no one to rely on. He, a stranger to me, had no need to know this. He’d already done more than I’d hoped.
    “I and my family owe you a debt of gratitude.” I smiled, chancing a look into his captivating eyes. “Perhaps when you are near the village next time you may stop in so my parents can…” The sentence lodged in my throat as I choked on the realization that my mother was dead. Hadn’t I just thought that? And my father and brother. Were they alive?
    My mind was trapped in a sickening maze of tangled thoughts so muddled I felt even more lost than before. A tear slid down my cheek. I swiped it away quickly and took a sobbing breath. I wished I could remain strong for a few more moments.
    There was nothing left within me to bolster. Another tear fell, followed by another and another until the cascade left me gasping for air.
    Strong arms wrapped around me, shielding me from a lone battle against torment. It might’ve been wrong, unseemly, for a maiden to take such comfort from a man—especially one who’d demonstrated his power with such ease.
    “Easy, Hannah. Those men will never touch you again.” This man had killed for me.
    I shivered, knowing the men who’d chased me were gone. The others of Stephan’s kind lurked somewhere. I pushed away from him even though I longed to remain within his embrace. “Forgive me. It’s been quite a day.”
    His hand ran down my hair and under my chin. He raised it. “Are you injured?”
    I shook my head no even as my legs throbbed. “If I could trouble you to point me toward my village, I’ll leave you be.”
    Leaving him was the last thing I wanted. So many questioned flowed to the tip of my tongue, but I knew now wasn’t the time to ask. He’d done enough for me.
    “Your village?” Shock registered in his voice. “You intend to return?”
    “Why would I not?”
    “It’s unsafe.” He crossed his arms and looked into the trees behind me. “My pack took care of those who dared to venture into our lands after you, but there were surely more.”
    Many more. I chewed my lower lip as I contemplated my diminishing options. My father and brother considered me cursed and wanted little to do with me, but they were the only family I had left since mother had joined Gran.
    “Point me toward Tash, then. My father and brother fight there.”
    “You want me to point you toward the war?” Amusement filled each word as his eyes glinted. “Danger isn’t something you fear, is it?”
    Lifting my chin, I chose not to respond to his comment. My harrowing ordeal had been enough to deal with, and I had no intention of darkening his dreary day with the woes still befalling me. “I’ll find my own way.”
    I moved toward the sunlit path. The streaming rays were brighter than I’d expected, and I could now make out a visible trail winding between the thickest of the trees. My fear must’ve obscured it before.
    I could feel him behind me. His presence was more unnerving than I cared to admit. For some reason this man made my pulse race. I doubted much of what I was experiencing right now had to do with the earlier attack.
    “I don’t need your escort.”
    He paused when I halted my movement down the